About 1756 a riot occurred in the city on account of the prohibition of the sale of certain liquors, but was soon suppressed by the personal courage and prompt measures of President Arcos.[XXXVII‑57] In 1766 a serious outbreak was threatened because of the establishment of the tobacco monopoly, and was only prevented by reducing the price of that article. The alarm and excitement caused by this danger was increased by the atrocious murder of two friars.[XXXVII‑58]
The minds of the people were for a time diverted from their local troubles by the funeral obsequies of the queen of Spain. The official notification of her death was received in Guatemala March 25, 1759, and on the 29th of the following June pompous funeral ceremonies were celebrated.[XXXVII‑59]
ANOTHER GREAT EARTHQUAKE.
Two years later the oath of allegiance to Cárlos III. was taken.[XXXVII‑60] In October 1762 the valley was flooded, and the town of Petapa, and the portion of the city known as the Barrio de los Remedios was inundated.[XXXVII‑61] But the crowning disaster was yet to come. A few slight shocks of earthquake in the latter part of May 1773 gave no cause for apprehension and were almost forgotten, when on the 11th of June they returned with such violence as to damage several houses and churches, notably the Carmelite and Dominican convents, and the hospital of San Juan de Dios. The shocks continued for several days with diminishing force and frequency until they had nearly ceased. On the 25th of July they were again renewed, but although frequent and violent there was no serious damage until the 29th, when the people had partially recovered from their alarm. Then they were startled by a sudden shock, coming on about four o'clock in the afternoon, which, though comparatively slight, seemed portentous of evil. So great was the apprehension felt by the inhabitants that many instantly abandoned the city, and those who remained were ready at the first indication of its return to flee from their dwellings. Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed since the first shock when there was a second, and of such violence that with the first vibration the work of destruction began. The motions were as varied as they were sudden and destructive; now horizontal, now vertical, the latter uplifting the earth with explosions, and compelling man and beast to remain prostrate. On every side were heard the crash of falling walls, the doleful clangor of the church bells as their towers rocked under the impulse of unseen powers, and above all the loud wailings of the terror-stricken people, who, collected in the squares and streets, vainly implored divine protection.
DESTRUCTION AND DEATH.
Throughout the night the shocks continued at brief intervals, and the horrors of darkness were increased by a severe rain-storm, accompanied by thunder and lightning, to which the thinly clad inhabitants were fully exposed, none daring to seek shelter from its fury lest a worse fate should overtake them. When day broke they were enabled to realize the full extent of the calamity. Of the magnificent cathedral nothing was left but a heap of ruins. Not a house in the city had escaped either destruction or serious damage. In many cases where the houses remained standing their foundations had settled or their walls were shattered or twisted. The greatest ruin, however, was caused in that portion called the Barrio del Candelaria. Here every house, including the church and the Dominican convent, was levelled to the ground. In many parts of the city even the pavements of the streets and the tiled floors of private dwellings were uplifted and shattered. The deaths, strange to say, were comparatively few, not exceeding one hundred and thirty within the city, and probably a smaller number in the surrounding country.[XXXVII‑62]
On the following day the duty of interment was begun under the direction of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Fearful of pestilence the dead were buried wherever found, the grounds having first been consecrated. Hunger and thirst next stalked about the ruins. Most of the supplies within the city had been destroyed or buried beneath the fallen houses, and none dared venture in those yet standing, as the shocks still continued. The aqueducts had been destroyed, and but a scanty supply of muddy water could be obtained. This distress, however, was soon relieved by the prompt measures of the president, who caused to be distributed a quantity of stores destined for the fortress of Omoa. Vigorous measures were also taken to suppress the pillage of the ruined houses, already begun. Thefts to the value of ten pesos or more were made punishable by death, and for lesser amounts, the breaking-open of any trunk, or the approach after evening prayers to the temporary quarters of the nuns, two hundred lashes and ten years' penal servitude was the penalty fixed. As proof of their determination to carry out these measures the authorities caused a gallows to be at once erected in the principal square. The presence of the militia, who had been summoned from the neighboring town, also helped to keep the criminal classes in check.[XXXVII‑63]
THE QUESTION OF REMOVAL.
Many had left the city for the adjacent villages, or had erected temporary shelters in the outskirts, but more lingered near their homes suffering from lack of food, clothing, and shelter. Within a few days when the shocks had gradually diminished, and it was a question whether the city should be rebuilt or removed to a new site, the president convoked a meeting of the civil and church authorities and prominent citizens, and it was finally decided to remove to the valley de la Ermita, the portion known as the Rodeo being chosen, and the choice approved by a decree of May 24, 1774. But finally, at the instance of the new fiscal of the audiencia, the site was changed to the plain of the virgin adjoining La Hermita, where were greater advantages.